Travel Technology - Best Prepaid Intl phone card Rome to USA?

Since I will not be taking my cell phone to Rome, I am looking for the best cheap phone card to make outgoping calls from pay phone/Sheraton to a landline in USA.

Euro Talk has no local acces phone numbers but is 5 centsper minute
ATT offers local phone line but is 45 cents per minute...
How much is a local call from a pay phone per minute in italy?

Since I don;t have local service, what is my best option? TIA

I use www.onesuite.com for my calling card needs. You can email me evilmrk @@@ yahoo to get an additional 20 minutes (domestic) free when you sign up.

I find their rates very good, features are great and it's very convenient to use the website to add minutes, check history, etc.

Noblecom.com has a card for 1.9 cents a minute, but it's got two minute billing increments and a 70 cent a week surcharge on it. If your calling pattern fits those two things it can be a great deal.

Rates may be higher from payphones, not sure.

I use www.onesuite.com for my calling card needs. You can email me evilmrk @@@ yahoo to get an additional 20 minutes (domestic) free when you sign up.

I find their rates very good, features are great and it's very convenient to use the website to add minutes, check history, etc.
So, from a pay phone from italy, calling california, it is 55 cents for the pay phone and 40 cents per minute? That's not bad! Thank you.

So, from a pay phone from italy, calling california, it is 55 cents for the pay phone and 40 cents per minute? That's not bad! Thank you.

I believe the pay phone surcharge is only for calls from pay phones in the US. so, 40 cents/min from a pay phone and 10 cents/minute from a regular phone. Pretty decent rates. Also, you can configure speed dial numbers and other short cuts that cut down on dialing times.

1. check out the forums at prepaidgsm.net for any info on prepaid sims in Italy.

2. I've been trying out jajah.com - it's an internet callback service, enter the two phone numbers, they both ring. It's the cheapest way I've found for calls to Italian cell phones from the US (or vice versa), since there is normally asteep cell phone supplement. 21.3 ¢ u.s. per minute (vonage, skypeout are around .38, cingular is around .33 to call an Italian cell, and calling the US on most Italian cells is around €.50/minute)

3. you can use skypeout if you have a high speed connection in Italy.

Noblecom.com has a card for 1.9 cents a minute, but it's got two minute billing increments and a 70 cent a week surcharge on it. If your calling pattern fits those two things it can be a great deal.

Rates may be higher from payphones, not sure.
Emerald plan list this:

"Miscellaneous Information

Rounding 1 - minute
Weekly Fee NONE
Connection Fee NONE
Domestic Rate 1.9¢
U.S. Toll-free Rate 0.5¢ per minute (additional)
Payphone Fee Up to 99¢ (per call)
International Rates View all rates
View Local Access Numbers
Terms & Conditions
Surcharge for toll-free access from Italy 6.0¢"

I assume there is a local access number for Rome.
so it would be 99 cents for the Pay phone,
6 cents minute for the toll free access
and 2 cents a minute for the call?

I am not bringing my cell phone to Italy.
So I will be either calling from my hotel room (if free local calls at the Sheraton Roma) or using a pay phone to call a landline in California.

1. check out the forums at prepaidgsm.net for any info on prepaid sims in Italy.

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Thanks for the link. ^


I'm now the proud owner of a Codice Fiscale and all set for a wind card when I arrive this weekend in Italy

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italy.html

Thanks for the link. ^


I'm now the proud owner of a Codice Fiscale and all set for a wind card when I arrive this weekend in Italy

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italy.html

Remember, Italy is a stickler for needing a copy of your passport to activate your GSM card and I experienced a bit of a hassle activating mine (too much paperwork for the agents i suppose).

got it. thanks

funny i once bought a cell sim card in so italy and they didnt even take my name down.

can you buy this card once you start traveling?

is this the best way to call toll free numbers from italy?

what about the post office do they offer a cheap phone card like in the UK?

What about Net2Phone? Sometimes the service sucks but cant beat the price, at least in the past and no surcharges for payphone calls.

Also, what about MCI cards at costco, pretty good price no?

What about Net2Phone? Sometimes the service sucks but cant beat the price, at least in the past and no surcharges for payphone calls.

Also, what about MCI cards at costco, pretty good price no?


I'll stick with www.onesuite.com

I really dont like that 99 cents per week charge, what is up with that? Any way around it? Do these calling cards really work in all the countries they claim to? Net2Phone always claimed that access numbers worked in CH however, it really didnt

the phone card at the tabico store in italy is dirt cheap. maybe 100 or 120 min for 5 euro.

requires dialing an 800 number, then entering your 10 or 12 digit card code, then the phone number.

some hotels block them.

anyone know of a dialer to load the 800# and the code? is hell for the dexlexic to dial all that line and get it correct.

Got a wind SIM a few weeks ago. It was at a very favorable rate for calls within Italy - 0.05 Euros per minute.

For calling to the US, I signed up for Nobel Emerald on cordelli's advice a year or so ago. I have been very pleased with it in both Switzerland and Italy.

You use to be able to get battery powered tone generators for phones you just hold up to the receiver, radio shack use to have them for like $7 or so. You hardly ever see them anymore because there's probably only a half dozen places where pulse lines still are in use, but they are available from time to time.

There's one here on e-bay


http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Pocket-Telephone-DTMF-TONE-DIALER-EchoLink_W0QQitemZ230109993006QQcategoryZ985QQssPa geNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

but it doens't say if it has a memory or not.